April 28th, 2007

Orkish Faith is an essential part of Orkish life; they can and do, literally, live by it.However, as important as there passion, there rage and there word, the Orks faith is alone in the Orkish mind as they only essential, that is Divided.

All Orks know of the past to some extent, and learn as young as on there mothers teat the Fault of all Orks, there Daemon Blood, and there Mother’s Blood.Through both a power is gained, whether spiritual or temporal, and that power drives the Orks in there ambition and Conquest.With both however, there is much to be gained, and much to lose.

The Divide:

The Divide is the General concept between the constant forces at war for an Orks soul.The Mother Brings Comfort and peace, and the spiritual strength of times possessed by the greatest of shamans, While the Daemon Blood grants strength and passion, a Great thirst fir battle and carnage, but the risk and price all the same, is the Orks very soul.

Maintaining this balance is the hardest for all Orks in there spiritual lives, for one slip and one can fall down a path of lethargy or carnage, without conscious or compassion.Orks maintain this balance, strangely enough through adversity.Adversity brings chaos, and as creatures of both, Orks thrive in there beliefs.War, Famine, Plague or otherwise, to fight brings a solidity of belief, but in times of peace, the decision and urge for chaos brings indecision.And always, the temptation for power.

The Land-Home:

Old in Ork legend, is the belief of Land-Home.The Ork peoples have long been divided, by tribe, by belief, and in a more physical sense, by land.Despite there immense numbers and quick breeding rate, Orks are scattered across all the great lands, foraging and scratching livings away deep in the mountains, swamps and undeveloped sections found in the borders of all kingdoms.But also, as all Orks believe, things will not always be thus Divided.

Land-home is an Orks belief in there rights, same as those of any other peoples, to have a land to call home, a nation of there homes.It leads them to many conquests, to strive for a land of there own, uncontested.The Horde pillages for this land, destroying human and Elven and dwarven settlements, shattering the lands of others, to steal them and claim them in the name of the belief in the Orkish right of Land-Home.

Obviously, this aggressive belief is the cause of much hatred towards the Orks.With aggressive raids made upon there lands, there territory claimed, after there people have been butchered; the other races have grown greatly unsettled by this continued hostile behavior.A sad thing for the Ork, that there Principal belief of acquisition, ‘You Keep What You Kill’, is the greatest fault for them ever establishing this Homeland through either peaceful means or as an uncontested territory.

The Mother:

The Mother is an ancient figure, belief, and influence to the Orkish peoples, so much so that one can tell her influence in as base an arena of the Orkish Tongue.The Word for Mother ‘Mu” is the Origin Lettering for many words such as Nobility ‘Mu-Han’, the World, or as representative, the Earth (Munt), and Sacrifice, of times considered the greatest of all Orkish gestures or gifts made for another (Munda).The Mother refers to the ancient mother of the Orkish race, The Mythical figure simply called ‘Mu-Ga’.

The Term however is one of wider meaning than simply historical reference, and has taken form in oath, belief and Reference many times throughout the long Orkish genealogy.Mother is a concept of Birth, Silent Strength, and Triumph in adversity, and also, the Guiding light of Orkish destiny.The Mother is also used as a term for Orkish Homelands, called ‘Mu-ra-Den’ or roughly translated “Home of My Mother”.This term refers to a home fondly regarded and cherished in memory.It also conveys to fellow Orks, a great sadness of departure and the Pain of orkish existence, in its reference to the Principles of Wartime tradition and the Dilemma of Land-Home.

In its ancient, Shamanistic origins, the Concept of Mother becomes even more encompassing, as the Mother takes the Form of the whole world, a similar concept of Mother Earth or Gaia.In this reference, the Mother is the Source of Ork power, as they are strongly attuned with the more bestial and Wyld state of storm and Earth.The Natural Mother in this instance is that of both ancestry and provider, as mother is responsible for the grain, the fruit, and the flesh of beast on which Orkish life is based.

The Blood-Curse:

As all Orks go to war know, the blood-curse is a very real, and very powerful thing.Orkish blood is hot, both physically and metaphorically, and the sense of Orkish anger is a strong one indeed.The Blood-curse is responsible for this.

Berserker’s are a feared thing, possessed by the spirit of rage and destruction, they roam the world as if it were all a battlefield,broken blades held with a murderers grip, and carving there way through any obstacle.Butchery becomes second nature to them and they cut down all whom obstruct there paths be they friend or foe in there unquenchable thirst for carnage and slaughter.Militant as they are, even Orks fear them greatly, and just so, they fear them for more than the frightening strength that seems to be carried with that mantle.Orks fear the Berserker, because in the eyes they see themselves.

The Daemon blood, though long dilute and far from the origins of the modern Ork, has left its mark on the race.There anger, once stirred is not easily vanquished, and there might, when possessed by the fury, is unquestioned.Orks are constantly hounded by this mad rage, and there lives become a never-ending battle of keeping the fury at bay.While the power of such a rage is surely both tempting and impressive, the loss of self, the loss of family and friend, and the loss of decision or control, is far too heavy a price.

Those consumed by the Blood-Curse see none as friend, all are only enemy.They would carve there way through a 100 human knights or 50 Ork children and never know the difference, though some green-skinned victim might even be there own blood, there own seed.They would rend the flesh of wife, mother, brother or father in there rage, and never know the sorrow of loss.To an Ork, to whom tribe is everything, and family greater still, this thought is aberrant, foul, and feared.Ork’s fight this rage stoically and for there entire lives, vying for control of there own hands at the daemonic rage never far from there thoughts.

The Broken Dream:

TO the Orkish peoples, the Broken Dream is an all too familiar concept.This series of verses, the most famous in Orkish history, originally presented itself as the poetic works of a great Ork shaman, named Fallah’Kan.The verse, which is told in many forms and melodies but always of the same words in length and meaning, describes the Orkish condition, of Passion and wisdom, Mother and daemon.Whom the original scribe really was is long since lost in history, though many have claimed knowledge of such, and many tribes across the globe would swear by there very lives that the shaman was of there own blood.Some rumors persist that it was actually Fallah’Den, a notorious shaman of the Gribble-Gat tribe long since decimated for there constant raids against the peoples of central Drak’Tur out of the Sky-Stone mountains.Others claim it was the shaman of Grim-tooth’s tribe, Farsh’Kan, whom composed the work, but none are sure.

The Verse is long and complicated, but nearly every Ork tribe knows of it, and many non-Orks, both commoners, and nobles, have heard and mourned the fate of its subjects.In the song, the telling is a tragic one, of the great divide of the Ork soul, and the how the avatar of the Ork people has abandoned them.It goes on to tell of the fate of those of each path, of either shattered dreams or lonely loved ones.Contained within the song are many subtle references, to great mythic heroes, and there falls, all due to this tragedy of birth and blood, and of the fates of Orks future and current, all victims of the blood-curse.

Over the years, this simple and beautiful song has become more than a mere work of art or poetry.The Ork peoples have felt the truth in it, the tragedy of there lives, and the similar tragedy that awaits them in the after-life, a constant war between the chaos and compassion in there hearts.The song is held in the greatest reverence, used often as both blessing and curse, and has been incorporated into everyday orkish rites and ceremonies including marriage, birth and planting.The initiation of young warriors is always marked on occasion with this song, as well as the funerals of great males, fallen victim to enemy sword or loss of laughter.As its power spreads across the culture of those disconnected, so too does its true power, that of memory, one of the Ork race’s greatest faults.Too often do they allow themselves to forget the struggle, to abandon the road of conflict and choose a side.The song has empowered them over the years to fight every inch of their lives for the freedom they one day hope too achieve, not only from the shackles the world has placed upon them, but also the freedom from hate and sorrow that has so plagued them all there lives.

The Daemon:

While an accursed thing, the daemon does exist in the heart of all Ork, and many falter and fall to its call.Whether they be the bound, the berserker, or the Vile whom have sold there very families to the hungry dark, they all serve the daemons of the great Below.

As such, many demonic spirits and entities pay special attention to the Orkish race.Those of spiritual prowess have reported many sightings in long-term orkish settlement and tribal grounds, from spirits of rage and anger to those of deception, trickery, murder, and greed.The ambitions of the Orks become tenfold with these daemonic interlopers present and they yearn for the chance to enter the hearts of the Orks and drive them into the rages they know possible.Should an Ork fall and succumb too temptation, all too quickly he will find those willing to barter for his soul and grant him powers at substantial, or at least seeming, compensation.

For Orks of magical talent, this becomes an even greater temptation, as the spirits whisper and flirt with the poor soul, driving them often quite insane with promises of glory and power.One of the first lessons young potential shaman are taught is the secret to locking away these voices and becoming immune too the temptations of the daemonic entities so attuned to the orkish dilemma.

The Bound:

When an Ork warrior, falls to the daemon blood, seeking blood more than faith, yearning for the conflict of war more than the comfort of home, they fall and become the Bound, notorious Orks warriors of grim resolves and wild fury.While they cannot match the berserkers for raw strength, the daemons take care of there own, and the soul sold in payment is one of great delight to the warrior’s now infernal masters.

With the selling of oneself comes power, and the bound express it freely in the world, becomes evil and twisted beings of heartlessness and cruelty, pillaging the land as they go.The bound have accounted for some of the most vicious of the Ork tribes, and some of the greatest blood-soaked battlefields the world has every known.As the Ork warriors grow in strength, his powers increase, summoning demonic allies, empower him with the strength of the vile below, and turning aside his enemy’s arrows with blackened daemon skins.As the Ork warriors grow in power, so to do they change, becoming more and more like there masters, marking the occasion once, when finally they ascend (at least as they see it) and become one of the great daemon Orks, known as the Vile.

Living servants of hell, walking the earth, the bound incite the horde and pillage the world about them in the name of there masters.When an Ork turns to the daemon, he of times takes his tribe with him, most commonly so if he is a great warrior among his people, or even war-chief.As the tribe falls to the daemonic influence, breeding becomes supply or fresh warriors, and the concepts of slavery and torture, normally seen as dishonorable by Ork warriors become commonplace.The tribe expands its borders, conquering local tribes, as some collapse under there weight and fall in line, and others are decimated, the survivors forced into servitude.The tribe grows and grows, becoming too large to avoid it any longer, and the daemonic horde forms.Such is the way of the worst moments in orkish history, and the reason for so much of there great tragedy. The blood of daemons.

Orkish Life

Leisure:

While many view the more civilized Orks as lazy or slothful (and indeed many become such), an Ork in the wyld is a vibrant and passionate creature, full of life and joy and life’s many leisure’s.All Orks are well known to enjoy a hearty meal and a strong drink, but too most Orks, these are merely the in betweens for the true tests of joy.

Ork men of many tribes all across the world enjoy numerous sports and physical competitions.Orkish traditions of wrestling, throwing sports, as well as combat rites and tests of mettle of all varieties are common and enjoyable things.They often engage in square –foot wrestling, a game where the two participants square there feet, front foot toughing, and using locked arms test the others weight control and upper body strength.Another popular sport of leisure is Galla, played with thick sticks and animal skulls.Two teams of between 5 and 10 Orks line a field anywhere from 100 feet to half a mile long, with tables at either end.The animal skulls are carried only on the sticks and the object is too carry one of 5 progressively bigger animals skulls across the field uninterrupted and undamaged to your opposing teams table and smash it upon the surface.The team with the larger pile loses.

Beyond simply these sports, rhyme and rhythms are popular, the Orkish arts of Drum, and Singing bowl, comb and ciuca.Music is a great focus of many celebrations and event in Orkish society.It is a common accompaniment to festivals of Harvest, leadership, war, birth, funerals, and planting seasons.Music is also a rather everyday occurrence, and has become central in announcements and triumphs, from the hunt, to a fine crafting, to the orkish matrons birthing techniques.Heavy chanted rhythms and subtle whispered beats create an overlay to the orkish tongue, and are used as a more subtle manner of conveying dedication and pride.

Leisure time for Ork woman of the tribe is a rare thing, and when acquired they rarely spend it doing what amounts to more physical labor.Orkish woman, passionate beings as they are, spend most of there spare time tending the animals, speaking with friends and acquaintances and dealing with subject of the tribe outside those of the shaman or war chief.Crafts, as well, are keenly focused upon, and woman of orkish tribes have developed into very talented wood-carvers, potters, weavers, skinners, butchers, and herder in the world.

Arts & Crafts:

Orkish crafts are chiefly frowned upon in many sections of the world, seen as either barbaric creations or that so savage a race could not comprehend the subtleties of any true art.Most of such opinions would be dead wrong, as Orkish craftsmen are actually quite skilled, since craftsmanship is the only real pursuit of Orkish men either incapable of hunt or war-time pursuits, or simply too old or frail.While Ork men are of a vast majority fighters and frontiersmen, many when not on the war-path take to there forge or saw, crafting beautiful and detailed works on surfaces such as iron, brass, tin, steel, granite, wood, and glass.

Among the modern day smith, the value of the temper of steel is descending, as the intelligence of design becomes more and more celebrated.Orkish weapons, while often of a more crude and basic design, bordering of times on down-right primitive, are fashioned with a care and intensity that is only matched among the greater of Elven and dwarven-craft items.Tempered steel, blackened and engraved with dedications and praises is the form of the common orkish sword, and rare is the day when an Ork warrior is sent into battle with a damaged weapon.There spears are intense works of engraving upon thick ash and poplar, detailed iron interlays of brass embossing presenting with wickedly curving and forked blades, as well as an edge detail quite unique to some of the deeper mountain tribes.As is understandable for a race so strong of arm, Orkish weapons do tend to be thicker and heavier than regular swords, definitely favoring durability and life of use over deceptive angles and trick segments.Especially along the south eastern coast of the Bastille and Locke lands Orkish weapons are seen as a sign of barbarity, yet among the nobles of the north they are often seen as testaments of strength and temperance, sought after for war-time and even sometimes supplied to a nobles guard.

Beyond the simple art of metal working, Orkish armour is where the opinion of there crafts truly come from.Orkish armours are a simple thing, barely armour in many instances, as metal, so rare in the highlands, is used almost entirely for the arms there warriors carry.Furs and hides make up the majority of such protective items, trailing into thick hempen jerkins and skirts, sometimes layered with lamellar plates of tin, or in rare instances copper.Still, the armour smiths are no less dedicated than the weapon smiths, and this art too has expanded over the years.Layered hides, shaved or braided, pressed and wetted too glue and pressed against the knitted plates, forming a great protective barrier.Orkish armour is one of the few in the world that protects equally well against hammer and arrow, and is valued greatly by those who find themselves fighting against the less civilized peoples or creatures of the world for such.

Technology & Magic:

While the Orks are primitive in many ways, they have also advanced technologically in others, sometimes in compensation, sometimes simply as an independent society.Orkish knowledge of metallurgy and smithing is actually quite modern, as well as the processes of smelting and casting metals both precious and functional.There war-time dedication has led them to perfecting the crafts of steel and iron and silvers, as well as copper and tin in a less functional and more decorative manner.

Similarly functional, orkish pottery is also a sturdy and beautiful thing, often engraved or shaped in a pleasing manner, as well as using pure material and the potters wheel has been tuned and honed into a fine instrument.Similarly, the production of wood-crafts and carpentry is very modern, including supports, as well as engravings, tall columns and combined with masonry and brick-laying.

As a polar however, there are many areas of the modern world which are still greatly wondrous to the orkish peoples, such as optics, and weaving.Orkish clothe is still a strongly rough craft, and the loom a mere dream of invention.Orks primarily don animal skins and rough shift of knitted cotton linen or hemp, and rarely have the patience for any items larger than a simple shirt of robe.As such, decorative works are hardly even dreamed of let alone the more mundane like blankets or bedding, and most Orks still sleep in there furs and straw mattresses

As hunters and gatherers as well as primitive farmers, orkish food production is by and large limited.There cold mountain homes allow for little true farming, but where decent soil can be found so too will Orks be, planting and harvest as those of lower climates due.The difference of elevation greatly changes what items are available or viable, yet orkish dietary habits have adjusted accordingly, and the heavy populations of mountain dwelling animals have always aided in such.

Orks at War:

Orks at war often set a strange but effective example for other warriors of the world.The individual Orks vary immensely, but with the bravery of such an army on the rampage, a howling tide of insanely strong Orks becomes only one of many problems for there enemies.

Orkish hordes maintain the whole as best they can, only breaking camp and separating when the need is great, or there are enemies too pursue not worth moving the greater whole.The line organization is often run strictly by tribe, with the unassociated often making up reserves or supply positions, the ranks of greater glory belonging to the subservient war-chiefs whom follow the greater chief whom leads the horde.Rank of position is measured through skill and strength, the greatest warriors commanding there lesser, and those commanding those of little or no experience such as the young-bloods.While this organization has many flaws, in that the wisest and most suited for command is not necessarily in command, the most experienced warriors do lead, and it makes the commanders the most likely to set an example of savagery and courage on the battlefield.Conversely however, when a group of Orks watch there leader fall, there courage does buckle, and never more so than with the horde, has the phrase ‘cut off the head and the rest will follow’ been true.

As Orkish passion applies to so much in there everyday lives, even more so does it apply to war.The key to some of the most successful orkish campaigns has been momentum and speed of assault.While many of the more civilized races prefer to rest and consolidate there power after any major battle whether victory or defeat, the Orks prefer to match blades with there enemies yet again.Orkish hordes strike like lightning from thee mountain homes, traveling at pace across a scope of land, demolishing all within their path, and when confronted with a sizable enough threat, they have been known to break march at the dead of night to battle there foes, not waiting for talks, preparations or rest.While some might view this behavior as rash or improper, to the Ork mind it is the greatest victory, the constant, relentless and emotional urge to smite ones enemies, and drive them before you for all time.During the times of the Red Dawn, it is said that within a mere three weeks, Grim-tooth’s warriors strode across the breadth of Kesh, slaughtering all they found and within another fortnight they entire country had surrendered.

Garment and Dress:

The dress of any peoples whether divided by race or culture can most commonly be measured in access and production of textiles and skins, and viewed in a gender based light.

Orkish men, mostly warriors in their youth with the few odd craftsman, shamans, or laborers depending on quality, strength, and endurance, as well as skill (a skilled smith, however talented a warrior rarely is allowed to serve on the front lines, so valuable is he) , dress in very simple matters, primarily focused towards protection.Protection is of course measured against the two greatest threats to the Ork, those of enemies and those of the cold mountains where they most often make there homes.While Grey Orks dress almost exclusively in skins of fallen foes, made into simple or crude loincloths, throws or toga, this is mostly due to there independent natures and how they shun society and all of its trappings.Conversely, the Wood Orks dress as fancy as they can find, there wardrobes primarily those of fallen enemies and stolen merchandise, a civilization of raiders and thieves, based around other communities as parasites and allowing this dependence to control the availability of products of any specific kind.Mountain Orks are of the greatest variety however, with armour being the chief concern.Armour is more often than not stitched and studded animal hides, thicker being better and often layered over areas of the body requiring greater protection such as the chest, back waist, groin and legs.Mountain Orks also tend towards heavy bearskin wraps or vests, as well as thick heavy fur boots and gloves, and if the Ork is a talented enough hunter, perhaps even a coat or cloak.Underneath his armour, should he wear anything at all, it will likely be that of a rough spun tunic or trousers.Rope suffices, often combined with metal bands of the less precious and more mundane varieties as fastener’s or straps, and orkish clothing of this variety is either buckled, tied, or stapled together, allowing for both speed and durability of craft.

Orkish woman, while of similar habits too orkish men value protection less and freedom of movement and comfort to a much greater extent.Hides a re rarely layered, except around the shoulders and feet, to warding of the cold and snow and rain.Orkish women, similar to woman the world over, tend towards longer skirts and larger shirts, possibly snug about the mid-riff, as well as simple woven straw hats or rain cloak.Orkish jewelry, while rare is not unheard of, and is made up of chain links, beads and feathers, as well as bone, stones, or occasional precious stones as valuable as pearl or amethyst.

Food and Drink:

An Orks mountain home offers little variety and less stability in diet and consumption, but through a combination of agriculture, hunting, gathering and trading, the Orks manage too maintain themselves.Bread is greatly valued and rather rare, as the field required for such grains are few and far between, and mostly dedicated to the production of hops, barley, or wheat for the production of alcohol.Potatoes, carrots, cabbage and radishes make up a large portion of the orkish vegetables, as well as many wild mountain vegetables or fungus that grow in patches at reliable location, and can be gather with regularity.

The truth though, is that the Ork subsists primarily on the flesh of animals, and meat is the staple food of orkish society.While a human city may fall too ruin should the grain supply run out, should the hunters fail in their pursuits, and meat become scarce, only then will the true tension be felt in an orkish settlement.Pig, lamb, goat, beef, horse, dog, lion, fowl, fish and all other varieties of creatures are used to make up the orkish diet, and the Orks waste not a sliver of the previous flesh, making many types of blood sausages, and stuffed vegetables and grain bladder’s from the many parts of an animal.Marrow is often used by Orks as a component to many dishes, and the broken bones are also greatly helpful in the crafting of tools and instruments for other use.While meat is so very important to Orkish life, few Ork tribes have had much success or talent as herders.The capital required for such large purchases of animal flesh in the modern world is breathtaking to the Ork, and unless they would be willing t barter away every scrap of steel in there villages, they would never be able to afford the cost of a sizable enough herd.That of course, they would never do, there pride as warriors too important, so instead many Orks have resorted to stealing cattle or pig when game is scarce, and often Ork tribes roast horse flesh of a passing courier or knight when the hunters return empty handed.